


The Prize for Rotten Judgement

by Husaria



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coming Out, F/F, Implied Sexual Content, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-05
Updated: 2015-01-05
Packaged: 2018-03-05 12:47:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3120692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Husaria/pseuds/Husaria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At least, out loud, she won't say she's in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Prize for Rotten Judgement

**Author's Note:**

> It should be noted that this takes place in an AU where the Nyotalia and Canon characters exist side by side.

Rūta had never been interested in the affairs of love.

True, she had eyes for a number of people in centuries past, the most prominent of them being Vasily Arlovsky, the male personification of Belarus. That infatuation had lasted a little over a hundred years before Rūta gave up on winning his favors. Thankfully, she wasn’t oblivious as her male counterpart, who allowed Natalya to break all of his fingers. Nor could she be naive as him; almost everytime she went to drop off some paperwork or go out for lunch, Feliks was there, often wearing an overlarge shirt that left little to the imagination about what he and Toris did the night before.

So how she and Wanda got to the topic of romance over coffee, she never knew. One minute they were sitting inside a café on Nowy Świat talking about the economy and the next Wanda asked about her love life.

“Come on, there has to be some lucky boy in your life!” Wanda delicately sipped her coffee. The two had taken off their coats as soon as they had gotten inside the café. Wanda’s loose red blouse perfectly matched her red nails. She had put on pink sparkling lip-gloss earlier, but that was gone along with the éclair she devoured.

As opposed to Wanda, Rūta dressed less colorfully, although she was far more stylish than poor Toris. Green suited her much better than Wanda’s reds, from her green tie to her dark pantsuit. She draped her black blazer over her chair. It wouldn’t do her any good to get it dirty.

“You know I’m not one to flirt with men,” Rūta stated.

Wanda batted her lashes. “Women?”

Rūta scoffed. “You know I’m not a—” The waiter came by and asked how they were doing. They replied that everything was alright and Rūta waited until he walked away before she answered.

“—a homosexual.”

Wanda rolled her eyes. “Oh my _God_ , not that again—”

“I’m—I’m not against it or anything—after all, you know what Toris and Feliks—”

“Ugh—”

“It’s just not for me. Don’t you think you would know if I were interested in other women?”

“How am I supposed to know without you telling me?” Wanda shrugged and thoughtlessly swirled her spoon around her coffee cup. “People are full of surprises.”

“But I am not.”

Wanda sipped more of her coffee. “Still, you never answered my question.”

“Men are more likely to fear me than be attracted to me.”

It was true. Even as far back as the Middle Ages, she preferred dressing as a knight than a lady. Toris tried to pull her off a horse once she had adorned a hussar’s uniform. She had kicked him so hard, his jaw had been dislocated for a few hours.

“That’s not an answer and you know it. Do you have a boyfriend?”

Rūta pushed her coffee cup away from her. “Putting it shortly, no, no, I don’t have a boyfriend, and nor do I plan on having one anytime soon.”

“I mean, if you had a boyfriend, you’d tell me right.”

Rūta blinked. “Why would I automatically tell you?”

Wanda sputtered against her coffee, a few drops landing on her saucer. “W-Well, I mean, we’re best friends right?” She wiped off her lips delicately with her napkin.

“Of course. Why are you asking this?”

“I dunno, just that—” Wanda waved her hand around. “—friends normally tell best friends when they’re dating someone.”

“I don’t understand that. I’d tell you only if things were going exceptionally well.”

If Wanda thought negatively of that, she didn’t show it. Instead, she continued to drink her latte and checked her phone in the process. Regardless, what Rūta did in her own free time with her nonexistent significant other was her own business. Silly Wanda.

After a small period of silence, Ruta checked her watch. “My bus leaves in an hour and a half.”

“We’ll go back to my place and pick up your stuff.” Wanda shuffled out of her chair, crumbling up her napkin and throwing it into the coffee cup.

Rūta stood up. “I’ll go pay.”

Wanda waved her away. “No, no, I’ll do it. Just get your coat,” she added curtly, heading to the cash register. “I’ll take you to the bus station, but can we stop by Złote Tarasy first? I forgot to buy boots for winter.”

“Your fall boots should work fine.” Rūta pulled on her blazer.

“They’ll clash with my winter outfits and they’re not warm enough.”

After collecting Rūta’s suitcase from her apartment and driving to the mall, Wanda’s first priority was to dive into the closest high-end shoe store she could find. While Wanda argued with the clerk over prices and styles, Rūta looked over a pair of brown boots.

With 500 złoty less in their pockets, they waited for the bus. It was a short walk from the parking lot to the international bus stop.

“Between you and Feliks, how does your government have any money left?” Rūta wondered while Wanda looked through her bag.

“Oh we find ways.”

Rūta shook her head. “Don’t buy something new if it doesn’t need fixing.”

“You _always_ say that, but you _always_ buy things.”

“When do you think you’ll be coming to Vilnius?”

“I wanted to go to Palanga.”

Rūta sighed. “Wanda, it’s almost winter. We are _not_ going to Palanga.”

“Fine, Vilnius, _but_ you simply have to treat me to that restaurant I really liked last time.”

“Okay.”

They stood in silence for a few minutes, their hot breath creating puffs in the cold air. Wanda became interested in her phone, and while she was doing that, Rūta took out her own. There were no new messages: the last one she received was Toris confirming that he would pick her up at the coach station right on time.

“I’m thinking of coming around November.”

“Hm?”

“To Vilnius,” Wanda clarified. “Definitely after my independence day but before Christmas.”

“Oh…okay.”

“Before it gets too cold. Like you right now.”

“What?”

Wanda shoved her phone in her pocket and proceeded to fuss with Rūta’s scarf, wrapping it tightly around her neck.

“Wanda, _why_?” Rūta demanded. “My neck’s fine.”

“You hadn’t tied it up since we left the mall.”

Rūta shivered as Wanda’s cold fingers ghosted the skin of her neck, and she huffed as Wanda brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. Wanda tied the knot and tucked the end of the scarf under Rūta’s coat.

“There,” Wanda finished with a smile. “All done and you look good.”

“I’m going to be getting on a bus in less than fifteen minutes.”

“That’s not an excuse for your neck to freeze.” Wanda pursed her lips.

“I didn’t even notice the cold when we got out of the mall. Besides, _your_ fingers are cold.”

“Oh hush. I think your bus is coming.”

The yellow bus swung around the corner and parked itself in front of the bus stop where they and a crowd of others waited.

“You have everything right?” Wanda asked. “Suitcase, passport, snacks.”

“I’m fine. You’re being fussy.”

Wanda pouted. “I’m just making sure you have everything.”

After Rūta checked in her suitcase, she had a few minutes left before the final boarding. She stood a few feet away next to Wanda, who looped an arm through hers and leaned her head against her shoulder.

“I’m gonna miss you, Rūta.”

“I’ll miss you too, but we’ll see each other in about a month.”

“I know.” Wanda was tall enough to press her head in the area between Rūta’s head and neck. “Where did you get this scarf again?”

“I think you bought it for me.” Rūta’s skin tingled where Wanda’s hair tickled her jaw and she closed her eyes. The crowd filtered out as more travelers boarded the bus.

“Last call for Vilnius!” the stewardess called out. “Last call!”

“I should go,” Rūta said, disengaging herself from Wanda’s hold. “November?”

“Yeah, in Vilnius.”

Wanda expectedly launched herself at Rūta, gripping her in a fierce hug and pulling her arms around her neck. While not someone who outwardly showed much affection, Rūta returned the hug, burying her face in her shoulder.

“Bye, Rūta.”

“Bye, Wanda.”

She broke off the hug and stood up on her tiptoes and kissed the Rūta’s forehead, her lips staying on Rūta’s skin longer than normal. Just when Rūta was going to ask what was going off, Wanda took a few steps back.

“Bye, Rue.”

“Wh—” Rūta’s face grew unexpectedly hot, and she felt that she would be sick. “Bye.”

She boarded the bus and within a few minutes, Warsaw and Wanda were behind her.

She had the sick feeling for most of the ride to Vilnius, her stomach flipping over and her heart pounding thinking of Wanda. She tried her best to think of meeting Toris at the coach system and drank almost all of the water in her two liter bottle. No matter how many times she made herself comfortably warm or played calming music on her iPhone, sleep eluded her and the day grew dark. Was she getting ill? But nations couldn’t get ill unless their economy wasn’t doing very well. Was Toris feeling the same?

By the time her bus pulled up in Vilnius, she couldn’t wait to get back to her flat and go to sleep. The thought of a hot shower before bed tempted her, a way to clear her head.

As promised, Toris waited for her with his beat-up car at the station, along with someone else she wasn’t expecting.

“Feliks?” she asked as soon as she got off. “Why are you still here?”

“Like, hi to you too,” Feliks said. It amused her to hear Feliks speak Lithuanian. He had only started seriously learning the language after the signing of the Polish-Lithuanian Friendship Pact in 1993. His Lithuanian was good, but accented and he got a few of the noun declesions wrong.

Toris greeted Rūta with a warm smile and gave her a hug. “Rūta, it’s good to have you back.”

“Good to be back,” she replied. “How was your weekend with Feliks? Or judging by the looks of it, how _is_ your weekend with Feliks going?”

“Fun,” Feliks popped up.

“I see.”

“Feliks...got a bit distracted,” Toris said, “and missed his bus.”

Feliks rolled his eyes. “Yeah, totally blame me.”

“What happened?”

“Feliks wanted to pet a deer.”

Rūta scowled. “Are you serious?”

“I’ve never seen a deer in Vilnius before.”

“I could just drive you outside the city and show you one!”

“That’s not as interesting.”

“I’d like to go home please,” Rūta interrupted before the two of them forgot why they were at the bus station.

“Y-Yes, of course,” Toris said. “We’ll drive you.”

“I’ll be gone by the morning don’t worry,” Feliks told her as they got into Toris’ car. “Already booked my ticket. Anyway how was Warsaw?”

“I enjoyed it greatly,” Rūta said. “Your capital is lovely.”

Feliks sat up straighter at that phrase. “Thank you. Vilnius is, like, _fantastic_. Toris took me to that mall that you live near, Panorama or something. I did a lot of shopping there.”

“How was the weekend with Wanda?” Toris asked.

“Good. We did some shopping and I bought new boots.”

“Were they very expen—?”

“Oh _God_ , can I see those boots you bought?” Feliks shrieked. “They look _so_ awesome.”

Rūta itched to tell Toris about her stomach problem but she couldn’t do it with Feliks in the car. She didn’t trust sensitive information like that around Feliks.

“Toris, can we meet up for lunch tomorrow?” she said after Feliks stopped fawning over her shoes and they had arrived at her apartment complex. “I’d like to try that new crêpe place on Gediminas Avenue.”

“Sure. I hope it’s not too expensive.” Toris briefly kissed her on the cheek after she collected her suitcase from his trunk. “See you tomorrow. Bye, Rutelė.”

“Bye, Toris.”

Rūta’s apartment complex was a new one, a bit of a walk and a few tram rides away from the bustling business center and the historical Old Town where Toris lived. It was in a quiet neighborhood, most of the traffic came from the enormous Panorama mall a few blocks away.

Once inside, Rūta checked the stocks on her phone. The Lithuanian stocks seemed to be doing fine, even better than the last time she checked. Why the feeling of illness with Wanda earlier today? Nothing happened with her economy that she could be aware of. Maybe a small forest fire or a particular polluted part of one of her rivers? Whatever the case was, she needed to talk to Toris tomorrow.

After a nice warm shower, Rūta crawled into her bed and fell asleep quickly. A vague thought entered her mind of blond hair tickling her neck as she drifted into her dreams.

***

Rūta had not waited five minutes at the restaurant when Toris burst through the front door, his forehead sweating and hair askew.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry I’m late!” he panted, sitting down across from her. He took off his coat and put his jacket on the coat rack near them. “How long’ve you been waiting?” His chest heaved and he wiped his forehead with a napkin.

“Only five minutes. What on earth happened to you?”

“Our boss…She gave me so much paperwork because of the Euro switch. I had…” Toris took an enormous gulp of air. “…to sprint over here.”

“From the Presidential Palace.”

“Y-Yes. I almost got hit by a car in front of the Cathedral.”

“That would’ve amused the tourists.”

“Don’t mention it.” Toris opened his menu and took a few more breaths. “Ohh, an iced coffee sounds so good right now. I need to stay awake for that meeting in two hours.” It was amazing how much Toris worked, even for a nation. “All this food looks delicious.”

“When did Feliks leave?”

“He left a little after five.” Toris frowned.

“He took a cab or...?”

“No, I drove him there.”

“Toris! Did you sleep at all last night?”

“I got an hour or two before I had to go into work.”

“You can’t just keep on doing things like that for Feliks even if you two—”

“Are you both ready to order?” the waiter asked suddenly, hovering over their table.

“Y-Yes, thank you,” Rūta sputtered.

After they had given their orders, Toris turned to Rūta, a glare simmering in his eyes. “Even if we _what_?”

“Even if...you know—”

 _“Stop.”_ Toris blushed, something he always did when she brought up the subject. “We’re in public.”

“It’s just...you do so much for him and he doesn’t seem to do _anything_ for you. I don’t understand _why_.” The waiter brought over their coffee. “It seems very one-sided to me.” She poured sugar in her latte.

“I came here to have a nice lunch, not have my relationship be questioned.”

Rūta raised her eyebrows. “You’re calling it a relationship now?”

“You know what I mean,” Toris said. “You might be my sister but you have no right to discuss my friendship with Feliks in this way.”

Rūta scowled, and she sipped her coffee.

“I’m sorry but aren’t you the one who always talks how her private life is her own business?” Toris added.

“Fair enough,” Rūta admitted. She sighed. “As long as you’re happy.” _Happy being Feliks’ lackey_ , she added in her head. Honestly, how they represented the same country yet had completely opposite personalities was a mystery to her.

“A-Anyway, have you been having a stomach ache lately?”

Toris looked up from his coffee, concerned. “Stomach ache?” he said quickly. “No, why, what’s happened?”

“I-I don’t know,” Rūta said, putting down her cup. “I started feeling a bit ill yesterday while waiting for my bus, but I’ve checked the news outlets and nothing’s happened.”

“I haven’t felt a stomach ache in a while,” Toris replied. “A-At least one involving the state. When did this happen?”

“I told you, yesterday while waiting for the bus. Wanda was with me and my stomach felt like it had flipped over.”

“That’s...odd.” Toris stirred more sugar into his coffee. “It may have a minor hiccup in a bridge or a road, but I never felt it. What were you doing?”

“I think it was when Wanda gave me a hug.”

“And...that was when your stomach flipped?”

“Around that time, yes, and it stayed with me until you picked me up last night.”

“That _is_ odd.” Toris blinked at his coffee before returning to Rūta. “You say...it was just with a hug.”

“Yes.” Rūta wanted to mention her skin tingling after Wanda hugged and kissed her, but decided against it.

“Well...”

“Well what?”

“I...I’m afraid there’s only one reaction that comes to mind.”

“Yes?”

“It’s a rather sensitive topic.”

Rūta sipped her coffee. “Mmm?”

“Could you possibly like Wanda more than a—?”

_“PFFFFFT!”_

Latte exploded everywhere as Rūta choked and spat it out. It landed all over the table, Rūta’s pants and Toris’ beige cardigan. She buried her face in her sleeve and coughed violently.

“Š-Šūdas, Rūta!” Toris grabbed the nearest napkin and attempted to wipe the coffee out of his cardigan.

“ _What_ did you say?” she shrieked. The commotion had attracted the attention of other customers, who had swiveled around to look at them.

“I-I’m going to have to change before my meeting...”

Rūta let out a sound of disgust and slid more napkins his way. “Why the _hell_ did you suggest that?” she snapped in a quieter tone to avoid drawing more attention.

“I-It was only an idea. I didn’t mean to imply anything by it.”

Rūta groaned and wiped her black pants down with another napkin. These were one of her favorites too.

“First you and now Wanda think I’m a homosexual.”

Toris jerked back. “Wanda thinks you’re a homosexual?”

“No...yes...I don’t know, we started talking about relationships in a café on Nowy Świat, and it was a very bad conversation.”

“Rūta.” Toris’ tone softened. “Sister, I’ve told you so many times that no matter what you are, it’s okay—”

“I don’t want to hear about it.” Rūta clenched her teeth. “I’m not like you and Feliks. I’m attracted to men and men only and that’s final.”

“Fine,” Toris said stiffly. “What other explanation do you have?”

“I’ll just need to think of one that’s all,” Rūta reasoned. “Or maybe something didn’t set well with the coffee I had earlier. I don’t have romantic feelings for Wanda. That’s silly.”

“I understand. I understand.” Toris dabbed at the coffee stains with another napkin. “This coffee won’t ever get off, will it?”

After they had cleaned up the coffee as best as they could and finished their crêpes, they began the short walk back to the Presidential Palace, crossing across the Cathedral Square and passing through huge groups of tourists.

“Will Wanda be coming to Vilnius?”

“Yes!” Rūta said enthusiastically. “She wants me to take her to that restaurant she really likes. I think it’s the one close to Mickiewicz’s house. I _have_ to wear the boots that she got me yesterday, even though my fall ones would work just as fine—”

“...I see,” Toris said. “You must be happy that she’s coming.”

“ _So_ happy. I’m—” Rūta paused. Her stomach flipped again and her face grew hot. Hopefully, Toris wouldn’t notice. “I’m glad she’s coming,” she replied. “It’ll be nice to have her here.”

“I think so too,” Toris replied. “Feliks mentioned about taking me to one of his houses in Zakopane or Kraków while it’s snowing. It’s sure to be beautiful.”

“It sounds like it will be.” An image of Wanda dressed in full ski gear leapt into Rūta’s mind, but she shook it off, crossing the sidewalk right when the light turned red.

***

Stress. That was what the stomach ache boiled down to, Rūta figured. They must be like the stress stomach aches Toris got. While she was never as frazzled or stressed as Toris, her job had caught up with her physical health. Perhaps, whenever she thought of Wanda, the thought of her upcoming trip stressed her out and caused her to have a stomach ache. Yes, that was much more reasonable that having her be a homosexual.

Rūta continued with her week as normal. Her work, like Toris’, nearly doubled. She ran around to various meetings with banks, finalizing the information for the nation to switch to the Euro. Now that the Euro was on her mind a lot, she found another source for her stomach churning—her nation’s anxiety over the currency exchange! She had plenty of things to stress out about.

Even more stress came with Wanda’s phone call at the end of the week.

“Hello?”

“Rūta, hey, it’s me.”

“Wanda, hello!” she answered enthusiastically. “How is everything?”

“Fine, fine, listen about my trip to Vilnius. Is it alright if Feliks comes? He says that he really wants to go to Vilnius if it snows.”

“W-Well, I mean—” If Feliks was there, that meant that Toris would be more involved too and, “—Has Feliks talked to Toris about it?”

“Uhh, not yet,” Wanda said, “but he says that he wants to come back. So that’ll mean all four of us will be together.”

“I’m assuming Feliks will want to stay at Toris’.”

“Oh duh.”

“I’m interested in Toris’ reaction to this.”

Wanda giggled. “Tell me if he gets a stomach ache again.”

“I will.” Rūta pressed her ear against the speaker. “I can’t wait for you to be here.”

“Me too.” Rūta was vaguely aware of someone entering her room.

“Ah, I have to go now. Talk to you later.”

“Bye.”

Toris stood in the doorway, holding a stack of papers in his hands. “You wouldn’t happen to have been talking to Wanda, were you?”

Rūta stopped smiling—when had she even started smiling? “I was. Why?”

“Nothing. I could tell.”

Rūta scowled. “Are those papers for me?”

“Yes, they are.” Toris slammed them on her desk. “I just signed them.”

Rūta sighed and put them all in a corner of her desk. “Is this all necessary for a switch to the Euro? I have half a mind to just cancel the whole thing.”

“Nations don’t make the rules, sister. We only follow them. Do you have any coffee?”

“There’s a machine in the corner. There should be another cup left.”

“Oh thank you.” Toris picked up a small plastic cup and filled it almost to the top with black coffee. “What...ahh...” He scratched the back of his head. “What were you and Wanda talking about?”

Rūta gave him a confused look. Toris rarely asked about her phone conversations with Wanda. Thinking of it, it was unlike Toris to divulge into her private life. “Her trip to Vilnius. Also, Feliks will be coming, and probably staying with you.”

Lithuania’s sputter made more coffee to spill on him. “Ah, šūdas, this is the second cardigan this week!”

With the arrangement with Feliks and Wanda quickly being taken care of, all that was left for Rūta was to wait for them to arrive. Unlike the last time, the Poles would be arriving by plane early Friday evening with Rūta and Toris meeting them at the airport.

No matter how much Rūta willed it, the stomach pain would not go away. It continued as long as the thought of Wanda visiting her stayed in her head. She found herself thinking of Wanda’s visit and Wanda herself all the time. What clothes would Wanda be wearing? With the colder weather, would she wear cute hats and sweaters? Rūta would need to spruce up her already neat apartment. Goosebumps erupted on her skin at the thought of Wanda staying at her flat. It would only be a short weeked, but Rūta couldn’t wait for it.

When at last the weekend came, Rūta went with Toris to the airport.

“Are you looking forward to this weekend?” Toris asked.

“Wanda will be here, of course I’ll be,” Rūta said. “I don’t think I need to ask you if you’re excited for Feliks coming.”

Toris smiled. “No, you don’t.”

“Ah, it looks like they’re there already.”

Feliks and Wanda waited for them already.

Wanda stood out from all of the other women at the airport. Red leggings, a red jacket with fur trim, red lipstick. The Pole was literally a cherry.

“Rūta!” Wanda swung her arms around her as soon as she got out of the car. “Dear, it’s so nice to see you.”

“Ah, I missed you too, Wa—” Rūta blushed and froze when Wanda kissed both of her cheeks.

“W-Wanda. T-Toris! Let’s put their luggage away.”

“R-Right.” Toris murmured something to Feliks, who stopped clinging to his arm and put both of their suitcases in the back on his trunk.

“Can we go get dinner first?” Wanda asked immediately after getting in the car. “I’m starving.”

“The flight was only an hour long,” Rūta said. “You could have eaten before.”

“I wasn’t hungry then. Didn’t you say you were going to treat me to that restaurant I really like?”

Rūta closed her eyes. “Oh, I forgot about that.”

Before Rūta could reply, Wanda leaned over Feliks’ seat. “Hey, ever been to Žemaitukiai?”

“Wait, Wanda, no—”

“No, I’d totally love to come.”

Something about them talking sounded off, like they had rehearsed those words and were waiting for the perfect opportunity. The words were stiff. Rūta suspected a plan was set into motion.

“...Alright,” she said. “Tor—”

“It’s close to work, right?” Toris asked.

“Yeah, I looked it up,” Wanda said. “It’s near the Presidential Palace. God, I’m hungry.”

Rūta listened quietly to this odd conversation. What were they planning? Why did Wanda suddenly invite Feliks and Toris to dinner? Speaking of which, why did Feliks want to come back to Lithuania when he sounded so excited about bringing Toris to Zakopane? Something was planned, and Rūta surmised that she was in the dark.

This restaurant was in the middle of the Old Town, the most crowded and touristy area of Vilnius. Thankfully, it was no longer tourist season, so finding a table for four in Žemaitukiai was not hard. The lights inside were dim.

“Wow, the food here really smells good, huh?” said Wanda. She sat next to Rūta, her thigh resting against hers. “I don’t know what to get.”

“Y-Yes.”

After the waiter came and took their orders, Feliks scowled at Toris’ outfit.

“Ugh, Toris, how many times have I dressed you and you _still_ look like this?” Feliks whined, fiddling with Toris’ turtleneck.

“I only dress for practical reasons. I don’t see the need to dress up.”

“How can you hang around with me and dress like this? I need to take you shopping.”

“You _always_ take me shopping.”

“This is a brown turtleneck with _lime green pants_!” Feliks shrieked. “Are you a tree or something?”

“I like green!”

Toris and Feliks bickered amongst themselves for a few minutes while Rūta and Wanda looked on.

“I’m glad you don’t dress like your brother,” Wanda said.

“You know, he can dress nicely,” Rūta defended. “On occasion.”

“On occasion? Really? I don’t think I’ve ever seen Toris in an outfit that I wouldn’t want to change immediately.”

“He does sometimes. Not a lot though. He seems to be surprised if I point it out to him.”

“You know what?”

“What?”

“I think he _likes_ to dress badly around Feliks.”

“Why? That doesn’t make any sense— _ačiū_ ,” Rūta quickly responded when their mushroom soup arrived. She tore off a chunk of the bread bowl and sunk her teeth into it.

“It totally does. Forgive me, but—” Wanda leaned closer to Rūta and cupped a hand over her ear so Toris and Feliks wouldn’t hear. “What if Toris does it so Feliks can take his ugly clothes off faster?”

Rūta choked on her hot soup and tears smarted her eyes from the scalding tempertature.

“God, I had no idea you were offended by that.”

“I-I’m not.” Rūta sipped her water. “My soup’s really hot.”

“It’s true though, isn’t it?”

Rūta shrugged and blew on her spoon before having more of her soup. Toris and Feliks looked over at both of them.

“You wouldn’t happen to be talking about us, were you?” Feliks asked. “I can tell.”

Wanda batted her eyelashes. “We wouldn’t _dare_ be talking about you two, brother.” Feliks rolled his eyes and he and Toris ate their soups. Rūta ate more of the bread bowl.

“Good Lord, Rūta, you’re like a bird,” Wanda said.

“Hm?”

“Geez, there’s bread crumbs everywhere. What on earth are you doing?” Wanda picked up some napkins and wiped off Rūta’s mouth and cheeks, even though Rūta felt no crumbs here. Unlike earlier, her cheeks did not grow hot, but her heart and stomach fluttered, startling her. She pushed Wanda’s hands away after she swallowed the bread.

“I’m fine. I don’t need your napkin.”

Feliks laughed and Wanda shrugged. Interestingly, the only one who did not react was Toris, whose face was red from repeatedly shoving his soup spoon into his mouth. Rūta stared at him, wondering why he would tear himself away from the conversation while the focus of it seemed to be on her. He looked up at her once and his eyes darted back down to his bread bowl.

No doubt about it: Rūta was being played, and it involved Wanda.

Rūta stayed quiet for most of the dinner, carefully observing the movements of Wanda and Feliks towards her. Wanda had always been a touchy person—giving Rūta random hugs or kisses or just looping her arm with hers—but now her touches multiplied a hundred fold, brushing her hand against Wanda’s arm or knee or tucking a stray piece of brown hair behind her ear. Rūta remained impassive towards these motions, mostly because she had no idea how to react to this. Return Wanda’s gestures? Tell her to stop? But the worst part was that Rūta didn’t want her to stop. She shivered as Wanda ghosted her knee or pressed her lips to her ear to whisper something about Feliks. Her stomachache was supposed to be caused by stress, so why did she still feel it when Wanda was here?

Rūta decided the time to talk to Wanda about this would be in her apartment after dinner where the two could talk in private. It couldn’t have been caused by Wanda herself but maybe talking to the Pole would help them get to the bottom of it.

After Toris dropped off both of them at Rūta’s apartment, Rūta led the way up to her room on the fourth floor, even though Wanda had been there too many times to count.

Rūta settled Wanda’s suitcase to the side. “Wanda, can we talk?”

“Oh sure.” Wanda unzipped her bags and took out her toiletries and her pajamas. “Can I shower first? I feel really disgusting from traveling.”

Rūta raised an eyebrow. “That flight is less than an hour.”

“I didn’t come directly from Warsaw.” Wanda shook out her hair. “I was in Brussels earlier today. Tusk’s EU presidency and all.”

“Oh.” Rūta wanted to smack herself for recently forgetting about Tusks’ ascension. “Certainly. Go ahead.”

“Thanks. I’ll be right out.” Wanda disappeared into the bathroom.

Releasing a breath she had no idea she was holding, Rūta leaned back into her couch, contemplating what to tell Wanda. She was touching her too much, yes that’s true, but that wouldn’t be enough to convey to Wanda that something was wrong. The way that she and Feliks and even Toris, who had barely looked at Rūta throughout all of dinner, had been behaving oddly. This secret plot involved her and Wanda in some way, despite the fact that she had been told nothing of it.

So when Wanda finally got out of the shower, Rūta prepared what she wanted to say.

“So Rūtelė, what was it that you wanted to talk about?”

Rūtelė. Oh Lord, she called her Rūtelė, and...what was she wearing? This soft-looking pink sheer nightgown and her shoulder-length hair already blowdried. She smelled of her lavender and aloe and whatever wonderful scent was in her bodywash and shampoo.

“Uh, right?” Rūta shook her head to focus on the task in front of her. “I want to talk to you.”

“Okay.” Wanda sat down on the couch, bringing her knees up to her chin and hugging them. Rūta had never noticed Wanda’s legs looking so smooth—

“About earlier. What was _that_?” Rūta’s voice unexpectedly sharpened.

Wanda raised her eyebrows. “What was _what_ , exactly?”

“E-Everything!” Rūta exclaimed. “You kept touching me at dinner, you and Feliks were talking like everything was rehearsed, Toris avoided me the entire time. It’s like everyone is in on this enormous plot but no one bothered to fill me in on what it is. _And_ it involves _you_.” Rūta put up her hands. “That’s all I know.”

Wanda scoffed. “What are you talking about? That was nothing.”

“That’s not true. It was something,” Rūta said firmly. Don’t back down, don’t let Wanda have her way. “I can’t remember Toris looking so uncomfortable in recent years.”

The blood had drained from Wanda’s face. She stretched out her legs and leaned into the back of the couch. She looked straight ahead, not even at Rūta, like a child caught stealing candy. Her eyes were troubled.

“I...I didn’t know you’d know...”

“Know about what? I need answers.”

“Dammit, I _knew_ Toris would give it away.” Tears sprung into Wanda’s eyes, but she raised her hands to her face to hide them away.

“Give what...?” Rūta’s eyes and voice softened at Wanda’s tears. “Wanda, dear, what is going on?”

With trembling hands, she grasped one of Wanda’s wrists and gently touched her shoulder. _What is happening?_

“Was I too harsh? I’m so so sorry. What’s wrong?” Her heart pounded. What had she done to upset her friend so?

Wanda removed her hands from her red face, tear marks down her cheeks. “I-I never wanted to tell you like this. You’ll hate me...”

“Tell me what.” Rūta moved her hand from her wrist to her soft cheek, thumbing away her tears. “Please don’t cry.”

She was so close to Wanda she could see the dark green of her eyes and the tears sticking to her eyelashes.

And Rūta didn’t know what happened next.

Suddenly warmth spread through her body as their lips touched. Rūta froze and then found herself leaning into it. _This_ was what she wanted. _This_ was what caused the stomach ache. A month of worry all for this and it felt wonderful and—

Wanda made a small noise in the back of her throat and rested her hands on Rūta’s chest and _oh God, oh God, oh_ —

Rūta pulled away. “I-I’m going to go to bed now,” she blurted. “W-w-we have a really long day tomorrow.” Did she leave the heater on? When did the room get so hot?

“Right,” Wanda whispered. “We do.”

“U-Um, uh.” Rūta clenched and uncleanched her hands. She needed water and soon. “N-Night.”

Without hearing Wanda’s reaction, Rūta sped into her room and slammed the door.

Oh Lord, oh God, what just happened? Did she just _kiss_ her best friend? Did she just _kiss_ Wanda? Was this a part of the plan? Was this a part of the secret thing Wanda and Feliks were in?

_God, what is going on?_

Rūta fell on her bed. She hadn’t changed into her pajamas and she didn’t care. She had kissed her best friend and _liked_ it.

She—She needed to talk to someone. Wanda was her best friend and she couldn’t talk to _her_ about this. She took out her phone and ran through her contacts. Toris—well, that’d be great; Ksenija—somehow she doubt the Latvian would give good counseling; Raivis—no; Teele—no; Erszébet and László—she shouldn’t bother considering the Hungarians; Alfred—he’d blurt to Toris right away; Eleanor—but what could she tell Eleanor?

She tapped Eleanor’s contact information, prepared to call her. But how could she do it? What could she possibly tell her? _Hello, Ellie, I hope you’re not at work right now, but I just kissed Wanda and I really don’t know what to do. Please help me._

No, that just sounded too embarassing.

What would she do in the morning? Talk to Wanda about it? She couldn’t talk to Wanda now after she unceremoneously ran out of the room. She never did find out what plan she and Feliks had.

 _I just kissed her_ , Rūta said. _I just kissed Wanda and I enjoyed it and I wanted more and I sinned and_ — _and—am I a homosexual like Toris and Feliks?_

 _No, no, I can’t be one. There’s no way. That’s impossible._ But was reasonable explanation would she have for _enjoying_ kissing her best friend?

 _No, that can’t be it. I’m not a homosexual. I’ve enjoyed men. I briefly enjoyed being with Vasily._ True, he didn’t return her feelings, but she was still attracted to him. She couldn’t possibly be a homosexual after having feelings for Vasily.

She still needed to talk, call, message, anyone. Just someone who she could talk to.

She frantically typed out an iMessage. _Help, I just kissed my best friend and I don’t know what to do. Please give me advice._ She sent the message.

A few minutes passed and her phone vibrated.

_What are you talking about?_

The reply was in Lithuanian.

_What happened between you and Wanda? What is going on?_

Rūta did the only thing she knew how to do. _This wasn’t meant for you. This was for America._

_That changes nothing. Do you want me to come over?_

Rūta’s heart pounded at the very thought. _NO. PLEASE DON’T COME OVER. THAT WOULD NOT HELP._

_I don’t think I have seen you type in all capitals before. What happened? Should I call you?_

“No!” she exclaimed. _No, please don’t call me. Wanda’s in the other room I don’t even know what happened._

_Did you really kiss Wanda?_

_I think so, and then I said good night right after._

_Wait you were the one who initiated the kiss?_

_I don’t know! It’s all a blur._ She sent that one and continued writing. _One minute she was almost crying and the next we kissed._

Toris blessedly didn’t ask why Wanda was crying. _You kissed her and left the room?_

_Yes!_

_You need to talk to her._

_I can’t talk to her after I just walked out on her._

_Then do something!_

_Helpful._

_People never come to me for relationship advice. I don’t know what to do!_

_I didn’t even mean to ask you for advice._

_Well, if you don’t want to talk to me, I’ll just stay quiet._

Toris didn’t reply for one, two, three minutes. The panic in Rūta’s body subsided, allowing her to think more clearly.

The fact was that Toris was right. Rūta _should_ go and talk to Wanda. But, thinking about it, what _would_ they talk about? Yes, they kissed but...what would talking about the kiss lead to? Talking about their feelings? Wait a minute—

Was _that_ was Feliks and Wanda’s plan was about?

“Is Wanda a homosexual?” Rūta asked herself out loud.

No, that couldn’t possibly be true. Wanda had dated an astounding number of zero—no one that Rūta could remember to be completely honest. Wanda asked Rūta about her love life, but gave no clues about her own. Rūta knew about her close relations with the two Hungaries and Italies, and she hated Ivan but enjoyed the company of Anna. The thought of Wanda dating any one of them made Rūta seethe. While Wanda was friends with Laszló and Erszébet, it was _wrong_ for her to date either of them. Rūta couldn’t explain it. The only person who would be appropriate to date Wanda was Toris—and he couldn’t for obvious reasons—or—

“Me…?” she whispered.

Did Wanda have feelings for her? That couldn’t possibly be right. She and Wanda were best friends. Wanda just touched her a lot and asked about her love life and kissed her and— _how stupid was she?_

Her phone and stomach dropped and she groaned. Wanda liked her. There was no other explanation. Everything, even since Rūta’s trip to Warsaw, pointed to the stunningly simple fact that Wanda liked her more than a friend. Wanda had a crush on her. Wanda might even be in love with her.

But something inside her rejoiced at the idea of Wanda having feelings for her. She yearned for Wanda to have feelings for her. She blushed and the tips of her fingers felt warm. Rūta gulped.

The front door slammed.

Rūta got off her feet and hurried into the living room. Wanda and her bags were gone.

 _No, no, no._ This was the last thing she wanted.

Her phone vibrated. Toris texted her in short bursts.

_Wanda’s coming to my apartment._

_She’s been texting Feliks since what happened._

_She wants to stay here for the night._

_I thought I told you to go talk to her._

Rūta stopped looking at her phone. She didn’t want to be angry with Toris after he went on one of his “I told you so” rants. Right now, she needed to find Wanda and make sure she was safe.

She zipped up her boots without wearing socks and rushed out the front door and down the stairs.

A blast of night air hit her as she went outside. In her rush, she had forgotten to put on her jacket.

_“Wanda!”_

The street lamps illuminated a lonely street. A few cars sped past her going to the city center. Wanda was nowhere in sight.

_“Wanda!”_

Rūta ran down the street. A light misty rain fell from the sky, chilling her to the bone along with the wind. A bored gas station attendant raised his head from the coffee machine to watch her pass.

 _“Wanda_ _!”_

A small blond figure crossed the bridge over the Neris River, a suitcase trailing behind her. That could only be her.

_“WANDA.”_

Rūta sprinted. The mist turned into rain and wet her clothes and hair.

Wanda stopped and turned around, the suitcase fell to the ground.

“Rūta?” Wanda whispered.

Rūta launched herself at the girl, squeezing her in an enormous hug.

“ _Dammit_ , Wanda, don’t run away like that!”

Wanda shoved herself away from Rūta’s hug, a glare crossing her face. “How the hell was I supposed to know you weren’t going to kick me out anyway?”

Wanda might have slapped her from the way Rūta felt. “Wh-why would I have kicked you out?” Her breaths appeared in puffs. The temperature was dropping.

In the lamplight, the tear streaks showed on Wanda’s face.

 _“Really?”_ Wanda snarled. “After all you’ve said about our brothers being homosexuals, you’d be disgusted at me!”

Rūta sputtered. “I-I’d _never_ —I-I was just talking about Toris and Feliks, n-not about—if you _were_ —”

“You don’t even deny it! Why do you think I never told you about my love life?”

“I-I just thought you were a private—”

“You’d never want to be close with me again if I told you, if your reaction towards Feliks and Toris are any indication.”

“Th-That’s different—they’re _men_. We-we—”

“What? I’m still a homosexual even if I’m not a _man_.”

Rūta had to get her words out before Wanda said anything else. “You know, I wouldn’t give a _damn_ if you were a homosexual. You’re my best friend, e-even if you do like women.”

“How _nice_ of you—”

“I came out here to _keep you from freezing_. I wanted us to go back to my place.” Dammit, now she teared up. “Please, Wanda, I’m _sorry_ —”

Wanda softened. “Oh God, even you’re crying—”

“Can we just _talk_ about this _please_?” She put her hands on Wanda’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, I should have talked with you about this earlier. I _don’t_ want to kick you out. Can we talk about it someplace warm?” She moved her hands so that they rested on Wanda’s soft cheeks and tilted her head. She gazed into Wanda’s eyes, a green just a shade lighter than Feliks’. “ _Please_ , Wanda.” _I can’t bear to lose you as my friend again_.

Wanda looked back at her intensely, a mixture of fear and worry.

“Alright...I’ll come back. It’s too cold to reach Toris’ place right now.”

Rūta’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Oh _thank you_.” She hugged her. “I’ll go put on some coffee and get you dry.” She put an arm around her shoulder. “Come on.”

The smell of fresh coffee drifted through Rūta’s apartment. Both of them had dried themselves off and sat down at the table. Wanda was very interested in circling the rim of her cup while Rūta stared at the coffee maker. An unknown fear spread through her limbs, and she felt frozen to the chair, her voice unable to rise above a whisper.

“Should—should we talk about it now...?”

“After we get coffee,” Wanda said softly.

Rūta gulped and pulled her cup towards her. “That...would be best.”

When it finished a few minutes later, Rūta poured coffee for her and Wanda, leaving an ample space in Wanda’s cup for her to pour milk. The refridgerator door opened and closed behind her.

“You got the milk,” Rūta said flatly.

“Well, yes, I know you don’t put milk in your coffee.” Wanda smiled.

Standing up tempted her to pour some liquor into her coffee, but she sat down. Rūta wrapped her trembling hands around her mug, appropriately in the colors of her flag to give her strength.

“Well...” She pushed some hair behind her ears. “Where should we start?”

“Uhhh, that’s a good question.” Wanda poured some milk into her coffee

“I have no idea.” Rūta deposited unholy amounts of sugar into her mug. Wanda stared. The tips of Rūta’s ears burned and she stirred the sugar into her coffee. “Sorry.”

“Let’s start with me.”

“R-Right, with you,” Rūta said. Her nerves calmed. “What about you?”

“Ahhh, I don’t think I’ve told you this but—” Wanda sighed. “Like Feliks, I’m also a homosexual.”

“Well, _that_...” Rūta sipped her coffee. What could she say to that? _I knew_? _It’s okay_?

“I-I knew. It’s okay.” She wanted to slap herself for saying something so stupid.

Wanda blinked. “You knew? How? I never told you anything.”

“I...I figured. Since ahhh...what happened, I figured some stuff out.” Rūta blushed. “In my head.”

“Really? How?”

  
Rūta might as well as stuck her face in an oven. “I...I put two-and-two together. With the way you’ve been acting and...ahhh yeah...”

Wanda looked as red as she was. “Oh, I thought I was being subtle.”

“You know I’m intuitive.”

“...I should have remembered that.” Wanda ran a hand over her face and drank some of her coffee. “So...that must mean you know about...Oh God...”

“Yes...I figured that out too.”

“Oh God...” Wanda put her face in her hands. “Oh God, oh God, oh God—”

“Yes...well...” Rūta looked around the kitchen to avoid the secondhand embarassment in front of her. “It’s...It’s okay, I suppose. You...can’t help how you feel.”

Wanda nodded. “That’s true,” she squeaked. “I feel so ashamed. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Rūta said.

Wanda suddenly looked up, her eyes clear. “But you _were_ the one who kissed me.”

“Šūdas...” Rūta feared when the conversation would turn on her. “I had beer at dinner.”

“That’s not an excuse and you know it.” Wanda put down her mug. “You’ve been acting funny around me too. You didn’t _have_ to kiss me, but you did.”

“What do you want me to say?” Rūta’s mouth went dry. “I kissed you, a-and I liked it.” That last part came out in a high-pitched squeak like Wanda’s voice. Tears sprang into her eyes, and her hands trembled.

“Rūtelė.” Wanda leaned across the table and took her hand.

“I can’t,” Rūta whispered. Her entire world felt like crashing around her. Everything that she had stood for was falling. “I’m not like my brother. I—I can’t be—”

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m here.” Wanda gave a weak smile. “There’s nothing wrong with it. Like you said, there’s nothing wrong with _me_ , right?”

Rūta’s lips trembled, and she pulled her hand away from Wanda’s grasp. “I-I shouldn’t be this way. This isn’t how I’m supposed to be.” The image of Wanda suddenly blurred. “I-I can’t be a h-homosexual—”

She let out a cry and allowed the tears to escape her eyelids.

Wanda jumped up from her seat and put her head on her shoulder, her arms wrapped around her waist. “Oh God, Rūta, it’s okay,” she murmured. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

Rūta was disgusting. She felt like an unnatural creature, worse than anything Wanda or Feliks or Toris would be.

“I-It’s not okay,” Rūta sobbed. “I-I’m horrible.”

“It’s okay,” Wanda said. She kissed her forehead. “It’s really okay. We’ll all accept you. Please don’t cry.”

Rūta wiped her eyes, her voice wavering. “H-How? I-I went against everything I’ve said and urged. I’m nothing m-more than a hypocrite.” She put her hands over her face again. “I h-hate myself for being a homosexual.”

“It’s okay,” Wanda repeated. “Everything’s okay. I still love you.” She squeezed her. “It’s a little hard to admit at first but—”

“I’m a hypocrite—”

“No—no, you’re not. Hey, look at me.”

Wanda gripped her cheeks and forced Rūta to look up at her, into her sharp green green eyes.

“Hey,” she said softly. “Listen to me. _This is not your fault. You are not a hypocrite_. The way you’ve acted...it was just a way for you to cover up what you really were. You acted this way as a way to bury this deep inside you. I don’t blame you at all.” Wanda stroked Rūta’s hair and smiled. “It’s okay. We’ll all love and accept you.”

“B-But—”

Her friend pressed a finger to her lips. “Shhh. Don’t worry about it for now. We can work out all the details later. I’m just happy that you figured this part of yourself out.” Wanda pulled Rūta into a hug.

Rūta clung to her like her life depended on it, burying her head in her shoulder and her sobs slowing. The whirlwind of thoughts in her head subsided, leaving her with one thought above all others.

“You’re my best friend, Wanda,” she murmured.

“You too, Rūta.”

Rūta released her sigh and slackened her hold on Wanda. After slowly pulling away from the hug, Rūta continued to place her hands on Wanda’s shoulders.

“How do you feel?” Wanda asked.

“Admittingly, better,” Rūta said. “For reasons I don’t know.”

Wanda smiled. “I felt the same as well.”

Rūta looked at her. “Oh? When was that?”

“Well...” Wanda blushed and went over to the other side of the chair to sit down. “It was a long, long time ago.”

“How long?”

“Ah...A couple of centuries.”

 _“Centuries,”_ Rūta gasped. “Oh, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I would have—”

Wanda glared at her. “—scowled at me behind my back like you do with Toris and Feliks?”

“I-I never—”

“I’ve seen you do it. Don’t deny it. After all, it was _you_ who made me realize that I was homosexual in the first place.”

“M-Me?”

Wanda blushed. “I’ve liked you for a while, you know? And since you’ve acted...well for lack of a better word, _homophobic_ , how was I supposed to know that you wouldn’t stop being my friend?”

“W-We were in a union. It was impossible for us to split—”

Wanda slammed her mug on the table; some coffee splashed on the wood. “That didn’t stop you and Toris from going behind our backs with Sweden, right?”

“That was a different time and you know it!” Rūta snapped. “Our nobility felt threatened.”

“But still, you betrayed the both of us. You betrayed _me_. If you betrayed me on the political front, what would stop you from betraying me on the personal one?”

The frustration in the room was at a boiling point. With both of their hands in their laps, Wanda and Rūta leered at the other. In each others eyes they saw the memories of native blood spilt on home soil and foreign armies trampling their land.

Wanda closed her eyes first. “It’s no good thinking about history at this point. It’s not going to solve anything. At least, anything that we’re talking about.” She rubbed her eyes. “Anyway...”

“You have been wanting to say that for a while,” Rūta figured. “You’ve been holding it in.”

“W-Well—” Wanda flushed when she saw the coffee she spilled. Sheepishly, she took a napkin and wiped it down. “I-I’m sorry. Just...when you say you’ll be someone’s best friend no matter what, after what happened between the Grand Duchy and Sweden and Vilnius—”

Rūta’s heart skipped a beat.

“—You really can’t blame me for thinking you’d cut off our friendship.” Wanda voice sharpened, and she gulped. “I know you’ve been having trouble with coming to terms with yourself, but that doesn’t excuse your actions. You’ve treated Toris and Feliks’ relationship _horribly_. I’m honestly surprised Toris hasn’t yelled at you.”

“But—” Now it was Rūta’s turn to flush. There was no use denying it. She _had_ been treating Toris and Feliks unfairly when it came to their _friendship_. “You’re right.”

Wanda blinked. “Wow. I’ve known you for over 700 years, and I can count the number of time you’ve admitted that you’re wrong.”

“S-So I was.” Rūta drank more. The coffee was now lukewarm.

“That’s something that doesn’t happen everyday.” Wanda whistled.

Rūta intensely stared at the lace patterns on her kitchen curtains. Wanda rested her elbow on the table and put her chin in her hand.

“Anything else we need to talk about?” she muttered.

“I don’t know,” Rūta admitted. They had talked about Wanda being a homosexual, Rūta being a homosexual (although would she be called a homosexual if she had feelings for Vasily?), Rūta’s treatment of other homosexuals—

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“So, when you kissed me and said you liked it, does that mean that my feelings are returned?”

 _Shit_ .

“I-I guess they are,” Rūta said. Damn, so she _did_ have feelings for her best friend. “And you have feelings for me so—”

“Should we do something about this?”

“I’m not sure. I mean, what would this consist of? What would we do?

Wanda looked at the ceiling. “Do you want to go on a date? It wouldn’t have to lead anywhere, it could just—”

Rūta yelped. “I-I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. Can I at least think about this? It’s very sudden.”

“Take your time, dear. This has been a crazy night, and it looks like I’ve finished my coffee.” Wanda stood up and put her mug in the sink. “We wouldn’t happen to be meeting Toris and Feliks tomorrow, are we?”

Rūta groaned. “I didn’t even think about them. I don’t think I can look at Toris.”

Wanda stared out the window. “...I told Feliks that I would be on the other side of the river by now.”

“And?”

“They were supposed to pick me up. _KURWA_.” Wanda fished out her cell phone. “I hope Toris hasn’t been driving around Old Town looking for me for the past hour.”

***

Even though she had stayed at Wanda’s flat a dozen times, she and Rūta agreed that it would be best if Rūta checked into a hotel room her next visit to Warsaw. After what had happened in Vilnius and what they had talked about, both believed it would be for the best. Also, it would not be as fun going on a first date without having to meet up with the other person first.

Rūta fidgeted with the clasp on her coat. She sat in the lobby of the hotel, her legs crossed. She told Wanda she could have easily met up with her on Świętokrzyska, but Wanda insisted on meeting her in Centrum.

 _“No, no, no_ _, you’re in Poland!”_ Wanda had exclaimed over the phone. _“I totally have to treat you as my guest. Besides, your hotel’s not that far from the street.”_

It was five o’clock and the sun set about an hour earlier. Out the window and across the street from her hotel stood the Palace of Culture and Science. Tonight rainbow lights lit up the building. Below it, Varsovians hurried back and forth between the massive mall and the metro stop. She vaguely wondered what happened to the concessions bill concerning the possible metro in Vilnius.

Her phone waited in her pocket, just in case Wanda texted or called. Wanda shouldn’t have any problem reaching her.

What did people do on first dates? Eat dinner? Watch a movie? Walk somewhere? She had already done those things with Wanda when they weren’t in a relationship. What made this time much more different? Worse, what did _Wanda_ expect out of this date? She still knew nothing about Wanda’s romantic life.

Rūta spotted a familiar blond head outside the window, and she stood up with a smile when she entered.

“Hello.”

“Hey.” Wanda smiled as brightly as her hair. “Congrats on the Euro. How do you feel?”

“F-Fine, thank you.” Rūta gulped. Remember, this was just a date. She didn’t have to act unnatural around Wanda, right? “Hoping for the best.”

“Are you ready?”

“Y-Yes. You?”

“Yup. Oh, and I love your outfit. You should wear white more often.”

“O-Oh.” Rūta blushed. She sighed, and her posture relaxed. “You look pretty as always.”

And Wanda did, from her small red shoes to her white beret. With a white peacoat and red skirt and tights, she looked the very picture of her own flag.

“Thank you. I left a bit early so we could walk up Świętokrzyska and see some of the lights.” She looped her arm through Ruta’s. “Shall we?”

“Of course,” Rūta said, and they walked out into the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Ohhhh boy, time for a lot of historical/modern day footnotes.
> 
>  **Nowy Świat** \- a very popular restaurant and touristy street in Warsaw. It's also one of the most expensive, which also brings me to...
> 
>  **Gediminas Avenue** \- which is also pretty much the Vilnius equivalent to Nowy Świat. Very pretty
> 
>  **Lithuania and the Euro** \- while writing this, Lithuania was in the process of changing its currency to the Euro
> 
>  **Donald Tusk** \- As of December 1, 2014 Donald Tusk, the former Prime Minister of Poland, is now the President of the European Council.
> 
>  **The Second Northern War** \- During that, the Union of Kėdainai was a secret treaty between Lithuanian nobles and the Swedish king to break up the Polish-Lithuanian union. That never happened.
> 
>  **Vilnius** \- Simply put, the [Polish-Lithuanian War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_War)
> 
>  **"She vaguely wondered what happened to the concessions bill concerning the possible metro in Vilnius."** \- Yeah, that was [a thing that never happened](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilnius_Metro)
> 
> And yes, both the title and a summary are a reference to "I Won't Say I'm in Love" from Hercules.


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